At ESPN.com, Pierre LeBrun writes that while he thinks that there was progress made yesterday with the movement that the players made towards the owners, the hatred and politics between the two sides could derail everything.

LeBrun writes “If this deal doesn’t get done, it’s because the politics will have gotten in the way of measured thinking. It’s possible, for example, that hardline owners pressure Bettman into either minimizing the $211 million “make-whole” amount or taking it off the table altogether. That would be plain dumb. And a deal killer.”

He also says that the moderate players who pushed so hard for yesterday’s offer could become angry and bring the union even closer together.